Compared to Peng Shilu, who finally managed to hold on without collapse with the full support of the aviation force, Colonel Asakawa Asakawa looked at the opponent's aircraft flying in the sky and dive bombing, and looked at the troops and equipment that suffered heavy losses under the attack of the opponent's aircraft. But my lungs were exploded with anger.
The sky was filled with the opponent's planes. The air support promised by the division commander before going into battle was still missing. He only saw the opponent dropping bombs and countless large-caliber bullets on his head. His own planes, let alone air support, were all seen. I have been fighting for a whole day, but there is not even a trace of a ghost.
This is a flat plain area. Unless you are lucky enough to find a crater to hide from, most of them can only be exposed to the bombs on the bare positions. The new incendiary bombs used by the opponent are so powerful that you have almost nowhere to hide. The morale of the troops dropped rapidly.
No matter how tough your nerves are, you may not be able to bear the sight of your comrades being burned like roasted whole lambs or suffocated to death due to lack of oxygen. Plus those who were killed on the opponent's plane The large-caliber airborne machine gun fired at the ground, and the miserable situation of people who were beaten into parts.
The tragic situation of the comrades around them and the exhaustion after a long battle caused the morale of the Japanese army to decline rapidly. After noon, the intensity of the Japanese attack had dropped significantly. By the afternoon, the morale of the 44th Regiment had dropped to the bottom. Although After occupying almost three-quarters of Dongguan and most of the county seat, they could no longer attack the enemy in a group.
The most critical thing is the artillery. Not only did it suffer heavy losses due to repeated air attacks by the opponent, but the artillery shell reserve that was originally expected to be used for two days, together with the losses in the battle and the losses from air raids, has bottomed out. The average cost of each gun The artillery shell reserve is less than five rounds, and the infantry artillery shells that have been used as the focus are less than three rounds on average.
When the fight reached this level, not only Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru, but also Second Colonel Asakawa Asakawa, who had always advocated taking Baoqing County first, also had the intention to retreat. He originally thought that based on the situation the day before, he would win it in 24 hours. There should be no problem with the already crumbling Baoqing County, but I didn't expect that the opponent would be like an unkillable cockroach, persisting despite heavy casualties.
Twenty-four hours later, the 44th Regiment suffered heavy casualties. In addition to the previous battle, the 44th Regiment had suffered more than half casualties. The field rescue stations were filled with wounded soldiers. Because there were too many wounded soldiers, medicines and bandages were needed. The embers have been consumed, and the wounded soldiers who came out later can only be hastily bandaged with leggings and left to groan.
The seriously injured were unable to undergo surgery because all their medicines had been used up, and even the morphine for pain relief had been used up. They could only be left to die in a relatively clean place, not to mention that several field bandages were killed during the enemy's air raids. The bomb exploded, and almost none of the injured who were evacuated survived.
Since when setting off from Mishan, in order to carry as much food and ammunition as possible, the rest of the supplies were only carried at the minimum standard, and I thought that the opponent was just some so-called local security forces and other miscellaneous 11th Division, let alone Anticipating that the battle would be so brutal, we only carried a few medical supplies when we set out, and most of these supplies were reduced to ashes in Qingyuan. As the war dragged on, the limited medical reserves of the 44th Regiment were short. It will be exhausted within time.
The Qingyuan Baggage Base was completely destroyed in the air strike. Nothing could be seen at first, but after a long battle, serious consequences became apparent. The 43rd Regiment, which had only been engaged in the battle for less than 12 hours, was okay. In some cases, the 44th Regiment was a bit unable to make ends meet. Almost all ammunition and medical supplies were in trouble. In particular, the wounded soldiers had no cure, which had a considerable impact on morale.
Although the Japanese army does not pay much attention to the issue of morale in the Japanese army, which always takes death lightly, it is impossible not to scare other people when seeing wounded soldiers dying because of the lack of medical treatment. Even if they are not afraid of death, they are still dying. There are many kinds of situations, and I'm afraid no one would choose to be hurt to death.
On the northern front, a brigade temporarily reorganized from the remnants of the 12th Regiment, which was forced to move south from the Jinshagang front line to reinforce Baoqing County, also fell into a bitter fight. Although under the supervision of officers, this brigade was very effective against the enemy. The counterattack carried out a tenacious defense.
However, despite the casualties, the opponent launched successive offensive attacks, and was still overwhelmed. Even when the opponent adopted flanking tactics many times, he almost failed to be surrounded. In order to avoid being surrounded by the opponent, the remaining troops were temporarily defeated. The blocking line of this formed brigade had already retreated from facing Jubao on the front line of Jinshaggang to the front line of Nancangzi in less than twenty-four hours.
What worries Colonel Asakawa even more is that the officer he sent to command this brigade has stated several times that if reinforcements are not mobilized, the brigade's blockade is likely to result in casualties within a few hours, or even the collapse of the entire front. The Nancangzi front line is already very close to the main battlefield of Baoqing.
The rapid decline in morale, the shortage of ammunition, the casualties of more than half of the troops, and the critical situation on the northern front made the 44th Regiment's previous offensive lose the sharpness it should have had. At dusk, Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru's order was useless. , Colonel Asakawa Asakawa, who already felt that the fight could not be fought, first proposed to terminate the attack.
Colonel Asakawa is not unaware of the consequences of proposing to terminate the offensive when he at least seems to have the upper hand at the moment, especially the impact on himself. He knows very well that once this suggestion is made, it will even It means the end of one's official career.
In the Japanese army, which has always focused on offensive, especially its strong attack power, and easily confused about retreat, Asakawa Teiji, as a captain of a regiment, took the initiative to ask his superiors to stop the attack. Although this move cannot be groundbreaking, it is definitely one of the few. of the few.
Under normal circumstances, in the Japanese army that advocates offense, officers who are not good at attacking, especially officers who are only one level away from the general like a regiment captain, will have a great impact on their career, so they generally stay in the army as long as they can barely survive. Under the circumstances, almost all Japanese officers never gave up the offensive.
Even if the troops have been depleted to the point that they are no longer capable of fighting, they will not give up the attack easily. As for giving up the attack and retreating when they have superior strength and firepower, this is very common among the Japanese army, especially at this time of crisis. In its heyday, the Japanese army was very looked down upon.
This is also the reason why the middle and lower-level officers of the Japanese army repeatedly overcame their superiors during the battle and launched attacks regardless of their superiors' orders. You must know that even the Japanese army, whose firepower was absolutely inferior in the Battle of Nomonhan, was actually always on the offensive. His offensive was nipped in the cradle by the Soviets' powerful artillery fire and armored forces.
Although he knew that the consequences would be serious, and that he would even be dismissed on the spot by the division commander who had strictly ordered him to capture Baoqing County within twenty-four little fingers the day before, the current development of the entire war situation made him feel that he could not do it no matter what. We can't keep fighting like this.
Ushijima Mitsuru felt that before Colonel Asakawa issued the general retreat order, he proposed to terminate the offensive and abandon Baoqing County, which was already shaky in the eyes of the 11th Division and seemed to be able to completely capture it with more effort. The suggestion that the army retreat back to Mishan was also slightly surprising.
Although he has made a plan in his mind to withdraw the entire army if there is no progress in today's offensive, this plan is still in his heart and will not be brought up until the final execution. As a Old fox, he will not understand what kind of impact this plan will have on the troops in the fierce battle once it is proposed.
But Colonel Asakawa was the first to propose a retreat, which somewhat surprised him. General Mitsuru Ushijima, who had stepped out from the position of Captain of the Colonel's Regiment, would not be unaware of the thoughts of these crazy mid-level officers.
It can only mean that Colonel Asakawa, who has always been proud, never bows his head, and never gives up easily, and whose tenacity has always been praised as the best among the three commanders of the 11th Division, can propose to terminate the offensive at this time. , the 44th Regiment has really reached the end of its rope.
After patiently listening to Asakawa Taiji's reasons for terminating the offensive, Mitsuru Ushijima, who was not as furious as Asakawa Taiji expected, although he looked quite calm on the surface, was actually even more disturbed inside, which was already in turmoil. , Ushijima Mitsuru, who has always been conceited, discovered that he seemed to be taking the initiative, but in fact, he was not in control of the development of the battle situation.
The division headquarters was destroyed, and the connection with the army headquarters was interrupted. The 44th Regiment, which was the vanguard of the entire 11th Division heading north this time, was equipped with a 15-watt radio, but it did not have the password for direct communication with the army headquarters.
The serious consequences of the destruction of the division headquarters were not only the loss of all staff and unified command, but more importantly, the loss of all code books for external communications. In addition to using clear codes for communication, that is He went crazy trying to restore the human method of transmitting information a hundred years ago, otherwise he would not be able to have any contact with the outside world.
The security of clear code communication with no reliability at all is too low. As for using cavalry to communicate with the outside world, that is even more impossible. The military headquarters is far away in Mudanjiang. By the time the message is sent, the day lilies will have already been cold. As for the people who most hope to contact Although the 29th Division was closer to Boli, it had to pass through the entire war zone, and the possibility of sending a cavalry communications officer to get there was almost slim.
Although I look down on Juichi Namada in my heart and feel extremely dissatisfied with the disappointment of the military intelligence department in this battle, at least for the situation on the surrounding battlefields, I still need to communicate with the military headquarters. I have lost the ability to communicate with the military headquarters. Although there will no longer be the constraints of the military headquarters, the 11th Division has also lost its ability to understand the surrounding battle conditions and has almost become deaf and blind.
The destruction of the division headquarters also had one of the most serious consequences, that is, the mutual cooperation plan that he had privately reached with Lieutenant General Toshichi Uemura, the commander of the 29th Division, could only be terminated, and the code book for mutual communication was lost. The plan to cooperate with the battle can only be stopped.
Without the support and cooperation of friendly forces, without the intelligence support from the outside world, even though less than forty-eight hours have passed, Ushijima Mitsuru, who now knows nothing about the war situation outside, was lost in the 44th Regiment. When he gained the ability to attack, he realized that he had missed the best time to retreat.